Postgame notes: "We’re missing some pretty good opportunities"

Check out that picture up top. I really thought about running that picture and nothing else as my postgame notes tonight, because those faces really do seem the tell it all. There's no pitcher in the shot, but that's fine because pictures aren't the issue. The Yankees, right now, are a bunch of hitters with their arms folded or their hands on their hips looking disgusted and helpless about what's happening right now.

One game samples mean nothing in baseball, but tonight's loss was not an isolated incident. The Red Sox basically spent the past week giving up on their season, and they just beat the Yankees by one run. That happened immediately after the Rangers, who had the worst record in the league, took two of three.

If the Yankees are going to win this year, they really need to start by winning games like this one.

"We do," Joe Girardi said. "We definitely do because we’re chasing people. I think people were really concerned when you had four starters go down (with injuries), but the starters have done a pretty good job of keeping us in games. We’re missing some pretty good opportunities."

Chris Capuano didn't exactly put the Yankees on his back tonight, but he's not supposed to do that. He's a fifth starter, who's really the Yankees 11th starter, and his job is to give the Yankees a chance. He did that tonight. What did the offense do? Derek Jeter homered and Carlos Beltran drove in two runs, but the rest of the Yankees combined for three hits.

"At the end of the day, I think everyone here is trying," Carlos Beltran said, and as Erik Boland pointed on on Twitter, throughout his postgame interview Beltran sounded like another guy searching in vain for answers. "It's just, things are not working right now."

No, they're really not. That strong start after the All-Star break provided some cause for real hope with this team. Since then, it's been back to underwhelming offense and wasted opportunities.

"It's frustrating," Chase Headley said. "The circumstances around that, I don't really get caught up in too much. I don't think anybody else is in here. We've got to win games this time of year, and I think that's where the frustration comes. This is a competitive team. There's a lot of pride over there (in the Red Sox), and regardless of what kind of moves they made over there, they're going to come out and give you everything you have. There's no disappointment in the fact that they traded guys off. It's just disappointing that we didn't win these games."

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• Drew went 0-for-4 in his first game with the Yankees. Martin Prado came off the bench and went 0-for-2. "I had some good swings tonight, I just missed a ball," Drew said. "I was telling the guys, I feel like I’m just coming out of spring training. It’s the truth. Just talking to Jeter and other guys. In my shoes, I definitely want to come over here and help out as much as I can offensive-wise and defensive-wise, as well."

• Prado got the ballpark a little before 6. When he pinch hit in the seventh, the Yankees were down one and the Red Sox had just put a lefty on the mound. "I took a shot with the short left field, maybe he hits a ball out against the lefty," Girardi said. "He had seen Tommy Layne before." Instead, Prado grounded to third.

• It's probably unfair, but I imagine there's always an expectation that new guys should always contribute right away. Drew looked good on defense, but neither her nor Prado did anything at the plate. "You know what, when you get traded, it's a difficult transition," Beltran said. "I've been there before. You come from one team to another team and it takes time. It takes time for things to click. You would love to click right away from the get-go, but sometimes things take time."

• In his second start for the Yankees, Capuano had a rough second turn through the order -- that's when the Red Sox scored their first three runs -- but he actually pitched very effectively his third turn through the order. "I just kind of left the ball up a little bit that (third) inning," Capuano said. "I kind of got underneath a few pitches, and Dustin hit the ball hard. A few other guys got on. After that I felt like I kind of found my release point and started to make better pitches. I want to take what I did the last three innings and start out from the get-go next time."

• Girardi couldn't name a single thing that Red Sox rookie starter Anthony Ranaudo was doing especially well to keep the Yankees mostly quiet for six innings. “He used his fastball a lot today," Girardi said. "At times it was up. At times it was down. When it’s down, it has pretty good downhill angle. But nothing tricky.”

• Headley had a really great game at third base. Looks pretty sharp in the field. “He’s done a great job over there," Girardi said. "We’re really pleased with what he’s done.”

• Girardi used his 20th manager's challenge this year to get a call reversed after Jacoby Ellsbury was called out on a steal. The Yankees have won 15 of their challenges. Some teams have a remarkably bad success rate. The Yankees have been good at it.

• Jeter now has 14 career home runs at Fenway Park. That's his second-highest total at any visiting park. He's hit 15 at Camden Yards.

• Random note: After a leadoff walk in the eighth, Jeter walked slowly to talk to Adam Warren behind the mound. The conversation lasted a few seconds, and it seemed like they were talking strategy. Asked postgame about it, Warren said Jeter was saying something about the fact he didn't think Allen Craig was going to bunt in that situation. It was basically just small talk, Warren said, something to get a young pitcher to slow down a little bit. Warren said Jeter will do that from time to time, recognize that the game might be speeding up for a young player and do what he can to slow it down again. Warren got a double play against the next batter.

• We'll give the final word to Headley: "You know what, I think the at-bats and the results haven't really lined up as much as they could have. I feel like we're swinging the bats better than what they're showing; some hard-hit balls that they made good plays on in a couple of big situations. Yeah, we're capable of doing more. I think we will do more."